Atchafalaya SB

Shannon Billings
Response to "Atchafalaya" by John McPhee


In this article, John McPhee is describing the Atchafalaya River and he is making a connection between the river and the terrain. He

describes the physical characteristics of the river and the land. He introduces two characters, the narrator and the "Lockmaster";

Norris F. Rabalais. McPhee pays attention to the details and colours of the clothing that the narrator and Rabalais are wearing.

He said, "Blue is the sign of a Yankee. But that red handkerchief—with that, you are pure coonass." The lockmaster wore a white

hard hat above his creased and deeply tanned face, his full but not overloaded frame."

He explains meeting Rabalais for the first time. Rabalais talks about when navigational locks to lower ships didn’t exist. Rabalais

said that "water would pour right out."

McPhee discusses nature and how man is always damaging it. The Old River was dammed and the crew continued to provide a

path for water to flow from and to the Atchafalaya River. A bridge was constructed in the Atchafalaya River and a device to monitor

the water flow. As a result, the Old River closed.

In a nutshell, McPhee explains that human beings continue to destroy the environment and nature. After a while, our environment

will be in such a poor state that it will be hard to maintain its original state. The environment will not improve and will only suffer

from our silly choices.